


Prince of Two Realms

by bad_at_names_and_faces



Series: The Young Diplomat [2]
Category: Frozen (Disney Movies)
Genre: F/M, Family Drama, Kingdom of Arendelle (Disney), Kingdom of Corona (Disney), Kingdom of The Southern Isles (Disney), Marriage Proposal, Permanent Injury, Political Alliances, Pregnancy, Prison
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-16 20:55:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28713123
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bad_at_names_and_faces/pseuds/bad_at_names_and_faces
Summary: Elsa had promised years before to respect the privacy of her family, despite the powers that Ahtohallan gave her to see nearly anything she wanted.  Elsa’s favorite niece, Inga, eldest daughter of Queen Anna of Arendelle, particularly valued her privacy, especially after she had met Prince Henry of Corona.  When Henry’s letters to Inga stopped for the first time in over a decade, Inga made a desperate decision to find him.  Will Ahtohallan reveal its secrets before Inga gets herself into the center of an international crisis?
Relationships: Anna/Kristoff (Disney), Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Series: The Young Diplomat [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2034517
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7





	1. Customs

**Author's Note:**

> This is the sequel to The Young Diplomat. I plan to do my best to make this enjoyable on its own, but I strongly hope you'll consider reading The Young Diplomat first. 
> 
> For those of you who've already read The Young Diplomat, especially for the Inga fans, I hope you enjoy this!

Rain battered the side of the ship in a steady rhythm, interrupted by the occasional sudden change in the direction of the wind. The young woman didn't want to think about the trip, not when the wind had been so strong that the ship had been listing at a sharp angle the entire night while they crossed the open sea. She had been sure that she would have fallen out if there had been an open window. How did people even travel to the Southern Isles before steamships? 

The captain made the call to disembark, and she longed to be on solid ground again. She grabbed the single bag she had brought with her and headed to the gangway, bracing for the soaking rain that no coat would protect against. The line of people coming out of the steerage class was long and slow. First-class passengers had disembarked an hour ago, their servants carrying everything they had brought with them. But she couldn’t take the risk. She needed the anonymity of steerage.

As she walked up the steps to the outside, she could feel the misty rain beginning to sting at her face, followed by the rush of cold and wet when she emerged into the outside. The wind whipped at her dress and hair, tearing at the simple bun she had pulled it into this morning.

There was practically a waterfall at the roof overhang to the building they were heading to, drenching anything that hadn’t already been soaked by the wind and rain. The snail’s pace of the line delayed the moment of reckoning and the ultimate relief from the weather indoors. She wasn’t sure what to expect inside; she hadn’t actually done any research about entering the Southern Isles, legally or otherwise, and someone else always took care of the details when she was traveling officially. 

Every few minutes, the line would move again, sometimes enough that it seemed they might get inside sooner than expected, but it always stopped again shortly thereafter. 

She was starting to feel hungry. It had been over a day since she had last eaten, and then it was a few bland, salty crackers. Even that was almost too much for her stomach to bear. Tonight, perhaps, she would find something at some inn, but it would still need to be as bland as possible. She couldn’t trust her stomach yet.

As the line lurched forward, she felt the splatter from the water coming down off of the overhang. She knew little to nothing about the Southern Isles, even though it was closer to her home where she had spent most of her life than many other places she had traveled. She knew why now, but she still regretted knowing so little, and at this moment, she was wondering just how much she would end up regretting this whole adventure of hers.

Her place in line thankfully didn’t pause under the overhang, so the soaking was brief, though she already knew she would have to dry everything out as soon as she found a room here. She had no idea where that would be. She realized she didn’t know where anything was, and whether it would be considered safe for a woman traveling alone, who for all anyone knew, was single and unchaperoned. 

The building was at least somewhat warm. She could imagine that this part of her wait was much more pleasant today than if it had been a sunny day. The stifling heat of a large, indoor room, with everyone overdressed, carrying too much luggage, and never getting a chance to stop or take off a layer, would probably produce an unbearable stench, especially right now. The smell of the rain wasn’t too bad, even with some of the animal smells she could detect today. It could get a bit overwhelming. Back home, she hadn’t even been able to go to the stables for weeks at a time, as clean as they were kept. She was feeling better now. It wouldn’t be a problem.

She could see the end of the line now. There was a long row of desks, with stern-looking men inspecting papers and stamping them, sending people on, or occasionally taking them aside to small rooms for some purpose she couldn’t guess. She hadn’t noticed any travelers coming out of those rooms in the few minutes she had been inside, but she had seen a few going in. 

As they moved forward, an official looked at her and gestured for her to go to the third desk from the left. She walked over quickly, then hesitated a few feet from the desk with the stern-looking middle-aged man. 

“Come forward!” he barked.

She obliged and stood at the desk.

“Papers?” 

She hadn’t thought this through. The ship hadn’t asked anything when she booked her ticket.

“I-I thought the shipping company took care of that,” she stammered. 

The man groaned, “Fine, Miss, your surname? I’ll look you up on the ship’s manifest.”

“My surname,” she trailed off, realizing she  _ really _ hadn’t thought this through. What name had she given when she purchased her ticket? Her husband’s name wasn’t an option, not right now. The people behind her started to mutter in annoyance. She was drawing attention to herself, and tried to avoid getting flustered as she realized just how little she had thought through all of this. This wasn’t Arendelle where she knew practically everyone and everything, nor was it Corona where someone was always prepared to tell her exactly what was expected of her. She had no idea what she should be doing at this moment, and it was terrifying. 

“Yes, Miss? We haven’t got all day. Long line behind you.” 

“Oh, yes, sorry. Bjorgman.”

“There, I see. Ingeborg?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Quaint,” he mumbled under his breath, pulling out a form and busily scribbling in some information.

She began feeling lightheaded and hoped that she would soon be allowed to head out and figure out her next step, whatever that might be. 

“Miss Bjorgman,” the man announced after finishing a few sections, “we’ll need you to step aside and fill out this visa and customs declaration form before we’re done, unless you have a passport already.”

“Oh,” she said, relieved that he didn’t seem suspicious. 

“It may take a few days for everything to be processed,” he told her blandly.

“A few days?” she exclaimed. Several more people in line turned to look at her.

“I’m afraid so,” he told her, “but this would all be much simpler if you had taken care of everything before you left home. Of course, I’m aware we don’t have embassies in certain countries, and if that is the case for you, it will take even longer to process.”

“Oh… but…” she felt a rising panic in her chest. This was going to be more than some inconvenient paperwork. She felt a hand grip her arm.

“Inga! There you are! Don’t tell me you already lost your passport!” The voice was one she hadn’t heard in years, but it was immediately familiar.

“Lars?” she gasped, looking over in shock. Her mind was reeling, but their immediate situation didn’t allow her to even think of half the questions she wanted to ask him, and she knew she wasn’t even in a position to ask the most basic questions right now. The full beard didn’t hide who she was looking at, and he clearly recognized the eldest daughter of Queen Anna of Arendelle. Could others recognize her? No time to worry about that at the moment. As far as she was aware, Lars Nilsen, her half brother, hadn’t left his post in America as Arendelle’s ambassador since he had accepted it over a decade ago. Inga still thought it was a rushed decision by her mother, but he seemed to be making the best of the position. She had been writing to his wife, Elizabeth, nearly constantly this whole time, and while she told Inga how her husband was often away from home, everything seemed to be going well. Inga certainly didn’t expect to see him in the Southern Isles, though she could understand the curiosity he might have, being, as polite company would put it, the “natural child” of one of the members of their royal family. 

The officer looked up skeptically. “And, you, sir, are?” 

“Please excuse me,” he said, handing over an American passport with a few large bills sticking out, “and please excuse my sister, she can be forgetful, especially on voyages.”

Her eyes widened at hearing him call her his sister, and unfortunately the clerk seemed to notice this. Neither she nor Lars had spoken since both of them knew their real relationship. 

But whose passport was that?

“Very well, Mr. Nilsen,” the clerk nodded. “And I hope your  _ sister _ is well.”

Inga felt the meaning of the clerk’s words, that Lars calling her his sister was a cover for something illicit. Even though it was technically true, they hadn’t grown up together, and neither of them had known about Lars’s true origins until they were already acquainted with each other. This clerk saw hundreds of people every day, so perhaps he had a sense for such details. Still, the bribe Lars handed him appeared to be large enough.

“Oh, the last names, of course you would question that,” Lars replied casually, setting down a folded up promissory note as he picked up his empty passport, “Nothing amiss, I promise.”

“Fine, enjoy your family reunion,” the clerk scoffed, quickly hiding his bribe.

“Have a good day, sir,” Lars called out as he pulled Inga toward the street.

“What’s going on?” Inga demanded, switching to her own language as they emerged outside. Lars waved down a carriage.

“I think I could be asking you the same question,” he replied, assisting her into the empty carriage. It was dry and surprisingly warm. Lars got in, closing the door, and the carriage began moving without a word from him. “Blanket?” he offered, reaching into a trunk under the seat.

“Thank you,” she replied, accepting the blanket, pulling it around herself.

“Now that we have privacy,” Lars began, “What are you doing here? You’re lucky that we happened to be here today.”

“Privacy? How can you be sure the driver doesn’t understand what we’re saying?” she asked.

“He understands everything, but he’s with me,” Lars told her. “I believe you know him, too. He spent a few years in Arendelle. And, yes, he could be considered a spy, but one you want on your side.”

“Wait,” Inga looked through the front window of the carriage at the driver. “Is that John Larsen? You know him? Halima was complaining about how suddenly he left Arendelle last year. She was all set to retire.”

“Yes.” Lars laughed a little, then sighed. “Unfortunately, he couldn’t give his real reason for leaving.”

“How do you know him?”

“I suggested the name Larsen. He needed something that wouldn’t raise any suspicions while he was traveling around Arendelle.”

“Why would he need a new name?”

“When I met him, he went by John Westergard.”

Inga froze, immediately understanding the implications. The House of Westergaard was the royal family of the Southern Isles, but she vaguely recalled from some lessons that they had some territories in the West Indies. John, with his dark complexion and hair, very clearly didn’t look like a Westergaard, unlike Lars. John, in fact, had gotten questions about being a relation of General Mattias while he was in Arendelle, which he laughed off. There wasn’t much resemblance beyond their complexion; their noses looked nothing alike, and even in his old age, the General was noticeably taller. 

“He’s not-” Inga tried to think of a way to ask the obvious question on her mind. “Is he related?”

“No,” Lars replied quickly. “I ascertained that very quickly when we first met. He and his family were affiliated with the Westergard family. He was born when they were still living in the West Indies, and then they were moved to Louisiana. After the War, John came to the embassy for a visa to Arendelle.”

“Oh,” Inga said, realizing what Lars had implied about John’s past. He hadn’t said anything while he was living in Arendelle, but she’d also never thought to ask.

“John is fluent in the language here, and has met nearly every member of the Royal Family, but thankfully, none of them remember him. Posing as my driver and valet, he’s practically invisible, and we might as well take advantage of that.”

“That’s all very interesting, Lars,” Inga said, “but you speak the language here.” 

“I suppose you didn’t notice, but my accent is nearly as bad as yours. It’s not something I learned in school. Everyone can tell I’m not from around here. My only advantage over you is that I’m not obviously from Arendelle, though you did well to travel in steerage.”

Inga sat silently as the rain battered the windows of the carriage. She knew she had too many questions to ask of Lars, things that she should know, or at least, things that she should have been told of long ago.

“Wait,” she spoke up, “why do you have an American passport? Is it even real?”

“It is real,” he told her, “and I was able to get it a few years ago, with very few questions, completely legitimate from their point of view, and—”

“Excuse me,” she interrupted, “but as far as I know, we’re still paying you to be Arendelle’s ambassador, and…”

“And I’m sure that Arendelle knows exactly where you are right now.” Lars looked at her raising an eyebrow.

Inga stopped. As far as her family knew, she had gone to a retreat near Bergen, to forget about her worries for a time. She had certainly been preoccupied, but she had never had any intention of staying at the retreat, rather she always intended to get herself closer to the port in Bergen, to slip out of the country unnoticed. 

She began crying. Her children were fine. They were well taken care of at the castle in Arendelle, but she had never been apart from them before this week.

“How do you do it, Lars? Leaving your family for such long stretches of time?”

Lars was silent, looking out the window of the carriage. As they pulled up to a grand residence, he looked over at Inga. “I know that they’re safe. I have to do what I have to do, and it’s safer if they stay where they are.”

Inga nodded. In her letters to Inga, Elizabeth often told her about the long absences, which she seemed to take in stride, since her father was a navy captain. Had it really been ten years since she’d seen her? No, it had been almost eleven years now.

“We’re here, by the way,” Lars said, as a footman opened the carriage door.

“Where?” Inga asked.

“The Corona Embassy,” he told her. “They’ll have dry clothes for you, of course.”

“They will? But I’ve never been here.”

“You’re a member of the royal family, so they’re always prepared.”

“Oh. Of course,” she said. She had lived in Corona long enough when they were first married, she should have remembered this. Somehow, she always felt like an outsider. Eventually, the trips home to Arendelle stretched longer and longer, until she and Henry were only making short trips back to Corona each year, sometimes skipping a year entirely, especially in the last few years.

They rushed through the rain inside, maids assisting her with her bag and coat and showing her to her room, where a choice of dresses and clean linens had already been set out for her.

“How did you know?” she asked the maid who was helping her take off her wet clothes.

“We didn’t, Your Highness,” the woman replied, “but the clothes were in the wardrobe in this room already. It’s where His Highness stays when he visits.”

“Oh,” Inga nodded. She hadn’t looked around the room yet, but she quickly noticed a painting of her and the two older children that was clearly in Henry’s style. She swallowed hard to avoid crying again. “Is James here?” Inga asked, realizing that she hadn’t heard news of Henry’s valet, either.

“Yes, he is, would you like to speak to him?”

“Perhaps later,” Inga replied, always nervous about seeing James. He was a good man, but he certainly knew more than she wished people knew.

“Do you have a preference on which dress?” the maid asked her. “I can put away the other one while you’re in the bath. The other maid has prepared it, just through that door, if you’re ready.”

“What time is it?” Inga asked, having not located a clock in the room.

“It is nearly dinnertime, and they told me you’re expected.”

“I’ll take the blue one, then, the one on the left, thank you,” Inga sighed. She wouldn’t be able to eat, she knew very well. But she assumed that Lars and perhaps Mr. Pincar, Corona’s ambassador to the Southern Isles, would be able to tell her more, so she should show up.

“Very well, now you can go clean up,” the maid told her.

The bath warmed her up nicely, and washing off the grime of travel was beyond refreshing. As she dried off, she sat down and allowed the maid to take care of her hair, carefully combing and braiding it into a pleasing style. Inga realized that she had no idea how simple this dinner might be, or who she could expect to see when she went downstairs. Either way, she was, by marriage, Princess of Corona, and standards of decorum at the embassy here in the Southern Isles, her husband had already told her, were higher than at home in Corona.

She was thankful that the dress was clearly made to more recent measurements. She had followed her mother’s advice to get rid of her older dresses once she’d had children, rather than worry over waistlines that could only be painfully regained. Her mother also advised her to look the other way as their official charity donations were quickly sold off at a premium. A second-hand dress of a Princess of Arendelle could be sold at quite a markup, after all.

Inga asked the maid to give her a few minutes, and return to let her know when it was almost time for dinner. In the quiet, when she was finally alone, with only the sound of the rain battering the windows and the crackling of the fire in the fireplace, she could finally take a few minutes to get her bearings in the room. 

It was clearly the room that Henry had stayed in. It had been nearly two months since his last letter now, and he had already been gone an extra two weeks beyond the two he was supposed to have been away. It hadn’t even been anything important, just another agreement that would look better with an actual member of the royal family present. His letters had seemed uncharacteristically worried, and then simply stopped. For the first time in ten years, his letters had stopped. She had tried to be patient, but nobody could answer any of her questions about why someone who had always written to her before would suddenly stop. Something was wrong, and she wasn’t allowed to do anything about it. She didn’t like feeling helpless.

Sitting on the edge of the large bed, Inga casually opened the drawer of the nightstand. Inside, she found a plain notebook, which she promptly opened. It was Henry’s sketchbook. On the first few pages were sketches of her and the children in the spring back in Arendelle, mostly playing in the castle garden and at the cabin in the mountains, but there were a few of herself that caused her to blush, though she remembered a few times he had drawn her like that. She had the feeling she was the only other person who had seen this, at least. 

On the later pages, there was a mix of sketches of buildings and people from the streets of the city where they were in the Southern Isles, a few architectural details from the room she could recognize just looking around, and lots of sketches from memory of her and the children. The last page with anything on it was dated September twelfth, the same as his last letter. It was already November.


	2. How Beautifully Blue the Sky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A few months before her eighteenth birthday, Inga enjoys springtime in Arendelle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ten years earlier...

_ Mrs. Lars Nilsen, Boston, Mass. _

_ April 10th, 1865 _

_ Dear Elizabeth, _

_ I can’t tell you how nice it was to come home to several letters from you, and I’m very glad that everything is going well in America. I’m sorry that I couldn’t give you a forwarding address while I was away from Arendelle, but I promise you I had a very nice time. Aunt Elsa insisted I send her best wishes to you and Lars.  _

_ Frederick is still on his training trip for at least another week. I suppose he’s doing well if they haven’t sent him home early. It’s really rather quiet here, since the twins are still up north. I know I’m not especially one for large gatherings, but sometimes it can be a little too quiet without my brothers here. _

_ On the bright side, the snow is melting, the crocuses are blooming, and it will be warm again soon enough. I hope all is well there. _

_ With love, _

_ Inga _

Sealing up the letter, Inga, seventeen year old princess of Arendelle, stacked it on top of the outgoing mail. She had been back in Arendelle for a few days now. Her brother Frederick had left for his naval training a few weeks before, and Anton and Peder had insisted that, because they were now thirteen, they would be fine staying on their own with the Northuldra for a while this year.

As was often the case when the family was away, General Mattias had been left in charge. He had officially been retired from the army for a year or two now, but he was still, by law, the official regent if anything happened before Frederick turned twenty-one, and he was still only fifteen. It had been over half a year since Inga had heard anything about the succession bill that would have made her the first in line, and she was rather certain by now that the council had no intention of ever going anywhere with it. 

When they got home, a small stack of official letters remained that Mattias had been unable to personally answer, but those didn’t take very much time for Inga and her mother to answer. 

Of course, she had been writing to Henry the entire time she had been with her family up north visiting the Northuldra, not that she had told anyone. She was fairly certain that her aunt had known, but if she did, she hadn’t said anything. Inga wasn’t quite sure what her aunt’s statement about Elizabeth had meant. Aunt Elsa had been at their wedding, so they surely had known that she was happy for them. There had been a few things in Elizabeth’s letters the past month that made Inga think there might be something else, but she dismissed the thought until she had any official word. 

A rattling at her window startled her out of her state of near trance thinking about all of this. She opened the window, and the air was slightly less chilly than she had expected. A moment later, a letter blew in and landed on her nightstand. 

“Thank you, Gale,” Inga smiled, closing the window, since it still wasn’t warm enough to want fresh air.

She went and sat on the edge of her bed, eager to open up the letter. She knew without looking that it was from Henry, and even though he wrote nearly every day, she still felt a little knot in her stomach before knowing for sure what he was going to tell her. 

She unfolded the page. On the top was a sketch of a city, apparently Lisbon. She smiled looking at the date. It had been sent the evening before.

_ Dear Inga,  _

_ We arrived in Lisbon yesterday morning. The weather is absolutely lovely here, but constantly traveling is getting a little tiresome, I’m forced to admit. My sister Hilde told me to send her regards when she saw me writing just now. I’ll probably have to write you a second letter to put in the mail with the rest of the letters so she doesn’t suspect anything. It will be properly dull and formal and will express just enough fond regard but not too much.  _

_ Since I just said I’ll write another letter, I’ll leave the details of the ball for that. Nothing interesting, trust me. I’m glad to hear your journey home to Arendelle was safely boring, as well. _

_ Yours, _

_ Henry _

Inga smiled. She and Henry had decided to write one or two letters a month to keep from appearing overly secret, though there was still no formal agreement between them. Inga’s mind changed daily about whether or not she wanted there to be a formal agreement between them. More and more, though, she had stopped thinking of herself as too young for such things. She would daydream about their kisses when he had visited Arendelle the previous fall. Her daydreams would turn to more sometimes, perhaps due to spending time listening to the giggling stories she had heard from Kate and Edith about wedding nights. It wasn't clear how much they had actually heard from Isabel about her own married life. She tried not to let her mind go there. She wasn’t ready. Not yet. 

Her mother had agreed not to pressure her about it, even if it was officially her business as the Queen, but every few weeks her brother Frederick would make some comment. Thankfully, he was at sea right now, and the one advantage of the situation was that he was clearly too exhausted to tease her in his few letters. Still, she missed talking to her brother. 

Now, however, it was time to write to Henry. She grabbed a small sheet of paper and wrote a quick letter. She remembered she still needed to send him an official letter that she was home. 

_ Dear Henry, _

_ I love your drawing of Lisbon. I know very well how tiring traveling is, and I can’t imagine traveling as long as you two have been this year. Still, perhaps I’ll get to Lisbon sometime. I wouldn’t mind escaping the winter at some point. I’d like it if you showed me around the place. _

_ Later today I’ll send you my own official letter, since as far as anyone knows, I haven’t told you that I’ve gotten back yet.  _

_ Yours, _

_ Inga _

She opened the window once more, whispered to Gale, and let the letter go.

* * *

“Inga! They told me you’d returned, but I hadn’t seen you at all since you got back!” squealed Edith as Inga walked into Hudson’s Hearth. Inga had decided that she could eat lunch and catch up with Edith and Kate, the wards of the retired General Mattias and his wife Halima, at the same time. She was slowly becoming more tolerant of their endless chattering, and besides, she had realized that knowing what people were gossiping about was probably prudent for her, though sometimes she wondered if people were too careful about what they said if she was around. 

“Good afternoon,” Inga smiled at them, sitting down in the nearby booth. “And, thanks, I had a good trip, but it always is a bit tiring.”

“Hello, Inga,” Halima said walking over. “Are you having lunch with us today?”

“Yes, please, and thank you,” Inga replied. “You know what I like, I think.” 

“Yes, dear, I know,” Halima nodded, heading back to the kitchen. 

Kate scooted in next to Inga, forcing Edith to sit across from them. 

“We’ve already eaten,” Kate informed her, “but I hope you on’t mind getting caught up on everything.”

“Of course,” Inga laughed. “Why do you think I came here?”

“Oh, and we’re going to visit Isabel this afternoon,” Edith added.

“Wait,” Kate failed to whisper, “has Inga heard yet?”

“Well, whatever it is, you need to tell me now,” Inga smirked.

Kate giggled, and Edith gently punched her in the arm. 

Edith smiled. "I think we'll let Isabel tell her when we go over there."

Inga nodded. She had a good idea what they were getting at by this point. Isabel and her husband, Captain Sigurd Olsen of the castle guards, had been married since September, afterall, so she had the feeling they would be having a baby sooner or later. Before she could hint to the sisters at her guess, Halima brought out her lunch, and being rather hungry, Inga got busy eating as Kate and Edith decided to talk about the weather.

“Isn’t the sky so beautifully blue?” 

“And yet it rained just yesterday.”

After lunch, as promised, Kate and Edith took her over to the nearby house where Isabel and her husband lived. It was more space than the two of them really needed, but it was obvious that it could feel very tight with a few more people living there. Isabel’s husband, of course, was busy at the castle during the day. Kate and Edith insisted on helping their sister by serving the tea and making her sit with Inga in the parlor. Inga heard as Isabel attempted to shoo the younger two out of the kitchen, with some discussion Inga couldn’t quite catch, and decided she wouldn’t try to listen. She looked out the window instead; even just this short distance up the hillside from the center of town, the view down to the fjord was stunning. 

As Isabel sat down, Inga decided to cut to the chase and ask herself, without the games Kate and Edtih seemed to be playing with the news. Isabel was often more level headed than the younger girls, with the possible exception of the much younger Meibel.

“Good afternoon, Inga,” Isabel greeted her cheerfully. 

“Hello, Isabel,” Inga greeted back. “You’ve gotten this place fixed up nicely since the winter.” 

“Yes, indeed. I was busying myself, and I’m glad I did, since I don’t think I’ll be able to get quite as much done this summer. Siggy has helped a lot, of course, when I’m not really up to it.”

Inga nodded, quite certain of her guess about Isabel’s condition now.

“But I suppose Kate and Edith already told you?” 

“Not in so many words,” Inga chuckled, “I suppose you could say they didn’t tell me at all. But I figured it out from the fact that they refused to tell me anything.”

“So typical of them,” Isabel laughed. “They think everything is a game, don’t they?”

Inga smiled and nodded as the two brought in the tea for them to share.

Kate spoke up after she sat down and everyone had their tea. “Isabel, did you tell her?”

“I think so. Inga, did I tell you?”

Inga couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re the one saying how they think everything is a game, and now that I think about it, you haven’t actually told me. I want to hear you say it now that you’ve protested about nobody just saying what it is.”

“Oh, fine,” Isabel conceded with a smile, “I suppose it’s a royal command then?” Inga bristled at the reminder and scowled, causing Isabel to laugh some more. “Fine, the doctor came last week, and he said I should be having a baby possibly around the end of August, or maybe in September. I was starting to worry that it would never happen, if I can be perfectly blunt. I’m still a little nervous. More than a little, so not a word outside these walls, please?”

“Of course!” Inga exclaimed, very sincerely.

“But now, tell me, how was it up north? Can you believe I’ve never been there? I grew up hearing the stories, of course, but you know he doesn’t really like going back if he doesn’t have to…”

“Well, everyone is doing well; you should tell the General that.” Inga smiled. “It wasn’t quite the same this year with Frederick having to come back to get ready for his naval training. Anton and Peder, you probably heard, decided to stay another month when the rest of us came back here. Aunt Elsa had to promise multiple times to make sure they stayed out of trouble. Mother really didn’t really think they were old enough to be there without us, but father pointed out that they’re off on their own in Arendelle enough that they’re probably safer up there. I certainly wonder that they’ve never fallen off the cliffs or something worse.”

Inga paused to catch her breath, as well as to pour herself some more tea. 

Edith noticed that the pot was already empty, and excused herself to go back to the kitchen to prepare another pot of tea. Kate put an extra cube of sugar in her own cup, which she had been fussing over but not drinking very much of.

When Edith returned, Inga continued telling them more about the trip. 

A knock at the door startled them, but it turned out to be Meibel, who had gotten home from school and asked to come over to visit Isabel instead of helping at Hudson’s Hearth.

“Hello, Inga!” Meibel chirped, “It’s nice to see you back! Have you heard from Frederick? It’s rather dull here now.”

“No, I haven’t, Meibel, but Sofia is back, too, so at least there’s that.”

“Oh, yes. And are Anton and Peder home?” Meibel asked.

“No, they’re still up north.”

“That’s disappointing. They’re a little annoying sometimes, but I miss them, too,” Meibel sighed.

“That’s sweet of you,” Inga grinned. “At any rate, Frederick will be back in a week or two, I think, so there’s that, at least.”

“Oh! Oh! I can’t wait.”

“Inga,” Isabel interrupted innocently, “have you heard from that fellow from Corona recently?”

* * *

The weather was exceptionally fine as the naval training ship sailed along the coast that morning in late April. The crew busied themselves to get everything set, since the harbor master could be expected to let them in and through with no hassle, since they were, afterall, part of the Navy.

The boys in training stood at attention as the Captain came on deck.

“Bjorgman?” he called out. 

“Sir!” the tall blond boy stepped forward.

“At ease, Bjorgman,” the Captain instructed. “I’ve been very pleased with what I’ve seen from you. I have to admit I was extremely skeptical when I heard from the Admiral that I would be taking you on these training exercises, since, unfortunately, there is a bit of a reputation for royal families to send their sons into the service merely for show, but you have performed very well, and do some credit to Admiral Sorensen’s judgement, and I can only hope you might be interested in continuing.”

“Sir?” was all the boy could think to say.

“There’s nothing official yet,” the Captain told him, “but the Admiral has been in negotiations to allow Arendelle to send a small number of officer candidates to Corona’s naval academy for training each year. Now, we don’t want you to feel any pressure, but you would be both my choice and the Admiral’s first choice to send to the Corona Naval Academy once the arrangements are finalized.”

“Really?” the boy gasped, forgetting ship protocol.

The Captain chuckled, then made himself look stern. “Yes, if you don’t slip up too much like that.”

“Sorry, Sir, excuse me! I was-”

“You were just excited, I understand, and that’s a good thing,” the Captain smiled, “now, go get yourself ready, we’re almost in sight of Arendelle!”

“Yes, Sir!” he said, running off.

* * *

Anna stood with the wriggling baby, still too small to set down in the market square, even with as early and quiet as it was and with a dozen eyes to watch over her. She needed something to focus on right now. She knew a naval training mission was as close to risk free as anything sufficiently exciting would be for her son Frederick, but still, he was only fourteen- no, fifteen, he had been fifteen for several months now, since December. She didn’t like to think about how old all of them were getting now, especially Inga, who would be eighteen in only a few months, but the baby was still a baby, for now. Little baby Linne would probably remain the baby, she had a feeling. 

Some of the children from town started gathering when they saw the ship entering the fjord; they were supposed to be heading to school, but this looked far more interesting. Behind her, she could hear her younger daughters Sophia and Marie running over to greet Meibel. She could assume that Kate and Edith would go straight over to Inga. Anna’s eyes were still focused on the fjord, toward the sea. In the corner of her eye, she could see Kristoff lowering little Karl down from his shoulders, since the boy was getting a bit too wiggly, and needed to run around. 

A hush washed over the square. Any doubt that this wasn’t just another trading ship was washed away when they could see the sailors standing at attention on every piece of rigging, with the rest of the crew lining the top deck. One voice echoed over the fjord starting a sea shanty, with the entire crew singing the response.

As the ship drew near, Anna scanned the rigging to see if Frederick was up there. Somehow, the idea of him climbing up that high on a ship seemed so much more frightening than her own adventures climbing similar heights when she was the same age. This was different. She couldn’t think of a good reason why, except that she had been on dry land, but she was sure it was different, somehow.

Anna barely noticed that several of the merchants had stopped what they were doing in order to watch at this point. Kristoff put his arm around her, and only then did Anna realize that she had been trembling a bit. The shanty finally came to an end as the ship neared the dock. Everyone in the market square gave a cheer before returning to their business. 

As the gang plank came down, Nanny quietly took the baby so that Anna could be free to go see Frederick when he finally came down. 

Admiral Sorensen was the first person to step off, and he nodded and smiled at the crowd that consisted primarily of the royal family. Anna took a breath and stepped forward, greeting him as the monarch, rather than as the nervous mother. 

“Admiral Sorensen,” she greeted him, “I assume you had a good training trip this month?”

“Excellent, Your Majesty,” the admiral replied, “and I’m particularly pleased with one of the trainees in particular. He exceeded expectations.”

Anna forced herself to calmly smile at this, but internally she was conflicted. She wanted to be proud of everything her son did, but the idea of his going into the navy never sat well with her, ever since he first brought up the idea as practically settled. But between her son’s own desires and interests and the politics of naval development for Arendelle, she had no way of really objecting to any of it.

The Captain soon appeared, standing on top of the deck, and then Frederick could be seen standing at the top of the gang plank.

“Frederick!” Inga shouted, waving. He smiled back, waving with his free hand, the other carrying a heavy pack of everything he had needed in the weeks on board the ship.

Anna could see that he wanted to run off the ship, but instead forced himself to walk down with quiet dignity that he had clearly learned in his time on the ship the last month. She thanked the Admiral and did her best to walk over to her son as calmly as she could. She could see Kristoff out of the corner of her eye following her, as well. 

She stopped a foot or two in front of her son. She smiled up at him, doing her best not to start crying. 

“Hello, Mother,” Frederick smiled, dropping his bag to give her a hug.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your patience! I'm hoping to get chapters out about twice a month after this. The next chapter will be returning to the Southern Isles...

**Author's Note:**

> Just in case anyone is wondering, I'm going with the usual Southern Isles = Denmark interpretation... References to the West Indies will be referring to the historical Danish Virgin Islands.


End file.
